In mythology and legend, a man, often of divine ancestry, who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his bold exploits, and favored by the gods.
A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life: soldiers and nurses who were heroes in an unpopular war.
A person noted for special achievement in a particular field: the heroes of medicine.
The principal male character in a novel, poem, or dramatic presentation.
Classical Mythology ~ a priestess of Aphrodite who drowned herself after her lover Leander drowned while swimming the Hellespont to visit her.
Also, Heron.(Hero of Alexandria) fl. 1st century a.d., Greek scientist.
a large sandwich, usually consisting of a small loaf of bread or long roll cut in half lengthwise and containing a variety of ingredients, as meat, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes.
[Earlier heroe, back-formation from heroes, heroes, from Latin hērōēs, pl. of hērōs, from Greek; see ser-1 in Indo-European roots.]
Usage Note:
Many writers now consider hero, long restricted to men in the sense “a person noted for courageous action,” to be a gender-neutral term. It is used to refer to admired women as well as men in respected publications, as in this quotation from The Washington Post: “Already a national hero in her economically troubled South Korea, . . . [Se Ri] Pak is packing galleries at [golf] tournaments stateside.” The word heroine is still useful, however, in referring to the principal female character of a fictional work: Jane Eyre is a well-known literary heroine. Ninety-four percent of Usage Panelists accept this usage.
favored by the gods
he·ro (hîr’ō) n. pl. he·roes
[Earlier heroe, back-formation from heroes, heroes, from Latin hērōēs, pl. of hērōs, from Greek; see ser-1 in Indo-European roots.]
Usage Note:
ps – we all are heroes